Emote
by jazzywazzy08
Summary: The only thing that he can want now is to make Klaus suffer. The only person that can help him do that is Bonnie Bennett. But she has no faith in her powers, and he has no will to help her restore it. He knows that all power has a stimulus, and for a witch, power is tied to emotion. He plans on provoking any emotion in Bonnie that he can. ON HIATUS
1. Part One: Provocation

**Title: **Emote

**Rating: **M

**Genre:** AU/Supernatural/Humor/Romance

**Pairing(s): **Bonnie/Stefan, Bonnie/Klaus, Matt/Rebekah, Tyler/Caroline, Abby/Finn, Kol/Lucy, Elijah/Katherine, mentions of Damon/Elena, past Stefan/Emily, past Stefan/Sheila, past Klaus/Ayanna, past Klaus/Gloria, past Klaus/Greta.

**Summary: **Stefan Salvatore finds it much easier to sin now that he cannot feel emotion. The only thing that he can want now is to make Klaus suffer. The only person that can help him do that is Bonnie Bennett. But she has no faith in her powers anymore, and he has no will to help her restore it. But he knows that all power has a stimulus, and for a witch, power is tied to emotion. So even without a will to feel of his own, he plans on provoking any emotion in Bonnie that he can in any way that he can to bring the power she is too scared to use now to the surface. Fear is good. Anger works better. But the emotion with the highest success rate is lust. But what happens when Klaus discovers Stefan's methods and finds reason to want to make use of the Bennett witch himself. _Set During 3x10._

_**A/N: So I've wanted to do a Stefonnie fic for a while. I am doing this because I wanted a Ripper!Stefan dealing with Bonnie but I wanted to do it when the show was still hinting at Klonnie and I think that in before the fuckery that was 3x11 they were. And here is the mess I came up with. Hopefully you likey. Anyway sorry about any errors. Love you guys. Thanks for reading.**_

**PART ONE: PROVOCATION**

"_The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray." _**~Oscar Wilde**

Stefan Salvatore listened as the floorboards of the old witch's house creaked as Bonnie Bennett walked through the house in search of what had drawn her there. He knew it was her. He had been following her but he would have known either way, he didn't have to see her. Didn't even have to smell her scent that lingered strongly in the air, even though she had not reached him yet. He could tell by her footing, the way that he could hear her move, cautious and yet determined. He could tell by the pattern of her breathing, and the sound of her pulse. Differences in people were not just exterior, and when you were what Stefan was, you noticed everything that made a person different. The enhancement of your senses prevented anything else.

He had plans for Bonnie and they started and ended with the coffins he had stolen from Klaus. He needed to make an alliance and she was the only one that was still remotely useful and the only one that he knew would trust him even with her doubts. It wasn't just the fact that he was good at getting her to do what he wanted, it was the fact that she was more isolated than ever now, marginalized from the group, just like him though for a very different reason.

Jeremy Gilbert had decided that a ghost was preferable over a living breathing girlfriend and because of that the group dynamics had shuffled. Though, Elena had not exactly chosen sides, it was obvious that best friend or no best friend, Bonnie would end up on the losing end. Elena might have been displeased and disappointed with Jeremy but he was family, blood, and in families that actually gave a fuck about each other, blood was thicker than water. Bonnie may have been _like _a sister, but it was Jeremy who was Elena's brother. So Elena and Jeremy were both out as far as people in Bonnie's corner.

Then there was Caroline Forbes. While, she had taken Bonnie's side in the whole debacle, she was now much too busy with her newly sired beau, Tyler Lockwood, to be of much comfort to Bonnie, and so that axed the blonde. Then there was Matt Donovan who was even more isolated than Bonnie and so as far as Stefan was concerned he didn't really warrant mentioning.

There was no one else. Not with Bonnie's father perpetually out of town and her mother abandoning them both over ten years ago now. It was the perfect time, in Stefan's opinion to prey upon her. There was not only no one there that would bother stopping him, but Bonnie would feel alone enough and hated Klaus enough to at the very least listen to what Stefan had to say.

Stefan listened as the door to the basement creaked open and Bonnie walked down the stairs. As she came into view he remembered a time when they had been close to becoming friends. He couldn't feel the loss or guilt that he once had over what had happened to Sheila, the change it had caused in Bonnie, and the ending of their friendship before it had really begun. The only thing that Stefan felt as he looked at her was perplexed over why the hell she still dealt with any of them anymore, after everything she had done and lost. Her grandmother was dead, she had died for Elena, and she had brought Jeremy back from the dead only to have him cheat on her with a dead vampire. Stefan didn't really see what was in it for anymore. But he wouldn't have to in order to use her.

When she turned around and realized that he was there, Stefan saw something akin to sympathy and regret in her green eyes. Yes, she was definitely ripe for the picking. "Hello, Bonnie," he said, his voice calm and even, if a little intimidating.

"Stefan," she responded. She was looking at him suspiciously, and there was shock in her eyes. It was obvious to him that she had learned about his disappearance after Mikal's death. "You followed me here," she accused.

Stefan didn't bother denying it. "Yeah," he nodded, "Wasn't too hard. You should probably be more careful." For every step forward that he took she took a step back.

It was clear she didn't know what to make of him when he was like this. She knew how to deal with Saint Stefan, the wounded, the repentant, and the "good" brother. This wasn't her territory, but she wasn't like Elena. When people were as Elena had imagined them or thought them to be, she tried to change them, back to her expectations without realizing that she might have never really known them in the first place. When Bonnie was shown someone's true colors she simply took them at face value and acted accordingly. It was why she was able to fear Stefan now when she had once cared for him. It was why she was able to walk away from Jeremy even though she still loved him. For Bonnie people didn't change, they just showed more of their true selves and time passed. And maybe, Klaus was partially responsible for unleashing this side of Stefan, but that didn't mean that it had not been a part of him all along or that it wasn't who he was now. "What do you want with me?" She demanded.

"Relax," Stefan coaxed, "I just need your help." It was best to be honest with her, she didn't trust him as it was, and so if he went dancing around the issue, he knew that she would simply walk away from him.

"Why would I help you?" Bonnie asked, "Elena said, that you saved Klaus' life." A part of her felt that if he had then he had had his reasons. Still, she didn't know what the hell was going on with him, saving Klaus one minute and gunning for him the next.

Stefan chose not to tell her why he had saved Klaus, though it would have likely caused some faltering on her part. She might have even been more willing to help him. But he didn't want her to misconstrue who he was now. Didn't want her to think that she was still dealing with the "Old Stefan" beneath the surface. He didn't give a shit anymore, not about anyone except at times himself and even those times were rare even though the reasons he wanted Klaus dead were selfish. He needed release, catharsis and watching Klaus die would give him that. He had even saved Damon for his own sake, because he couldn't live without his brother. He wasn't going to pretend to be some selfless hero and have her walk into this blind. She needed to know what she was dealing with. "Let me fill you in on a little secret about Klaus," he told her, ignoring the scowl on her face, "He kept his family with him at all times. Daggered, stored in coffins." Bonnie's expression changed, as if some light bulb turned on in her head. He raised a brow at her but continued. "And now I have them and I need you to help keep them hidden," he said.

Bonnie stopped thinking about the strange dreams she had been having about Klaus and coffins, long enough to process what he had said. "Are you out of your mind?" She asked, and then she remembered who she was speaking to. She shook her head. "You're just going to make him angrier."

Stefan wasn't really listening to her protest. Of course Klaus was angrier. That just made things more fun. "His family is his one weakness," Stefan persisted, "As long as I have that I can _ruin him_."

Bonnie knew that there would be no reasoning with him. She would just have to get herself out of his plans. There was one way to do that and she wouldn't even have to lie. "I don't have enough power to hide four Originals," she said.

Stefan shrugged. "You're a witch, you hate Klaus, and I can figure something out," he said. In truth even without one hundred dead witches Bonnie had more than enough power, she just didn't know or was too scared to access it. But Stefan knew more about witches than he had ever let on. He had been close to both Emily and Sheila after all, among others. He knew how they worked, what drove them, and how to bring their power to the surface.

"What do those three things have to do with each other?" Bonnie asked, eyeing him skeptically. She was close to just walking away.

"Agree to help me and I'll tell you," he offered.

She knew she couldn't trust him and even with how old he was and much longer he had been exposed to magic, Bonnie still believed she knew more about what she was than he did. Whatever half-baked scheme that Stefan came up with was bound to fail. "I think I'll pass," Bonnie sighed, "Are we done here?"

Stefan nodded. "For now," he said, "But you know as well as I do that Klaus won't stop. When you change your mind, you know where to find me."

**:::**

Bonnie sighed a she walked into her room, feeling dejected. She was miserable and Jeremy was in a downward spiral and though she didn't want to care she did care. Besides that she now knew what he dreams meant. Her Grams had told her that she needed to stay out of Original business, and yet the spirits were sending her dreams of Klaus and his family, and the coffins they resided in. She was so tired of it all. Klaus, the mixed messages from the spirits, paying consequences that no other witch knew seemed to have to pay.

In truth Bonnie had found Stefan's offer more tempting than she had let on. She didn't trust him but she wanted to get rid of Klaus or at the very least make him suffer. The sad part about it all was that she was certain that if Stefan hadn't stolen Klaus' family in the first place that the deranged wouldn't have had a real reason to remain in Mystic Falls. But having been friends with Klaus in one time, and enemies and comrades with him in another, Bonnie was sure that Stefan had known that. Bonnie didn't give a shit if it was a power play game between Klaus and Stefan or some twisted form of foreplay, whatever the case, she knew that the best thing for her to do would be to stay the hell out of it.

Bonnie started as her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen before answering it. "Elena," she said, "Hey." Bonnie was attempting to sound normal but all attempts were forgotten when suddenly Elena was launching into speech that connected the dots between Bonnie's dreams and Klaus' coffins. "Elena don't get involved," Bonnie ordered firmly, "Whatever Klaus wants, stay as far away from it as you can."

"Klaus won't let me," Elena claimed, and then she said something that Bonnie couldn't ignore, "Bonnie, he tried to kill Jeremy." And just like that Bonnie was being sucked right back in.

Bonnie sighed and sat down heavily on her bed. Even if she had been to the point where she no longer had feelings for Jeremy, which she wasn't, she wouldn't have been able to ignore him being a target. "What do you want me do?" She asked.

"We need to find, Stefan," Elena said, "Look, I know you don't think that your locator spell still works we need to try."

Bonnie bit her lip and then nodded in resolve. "You don't need a locator spell," she said.

**:::**

Stefan shouldn't have been surprised when instead of Bonnie returning Elena showed up, but he was. Bonnie was a "for the greater good" type person and so he had hoped that she would help him on that basis. However, it was on that basis that she had ratted him out instead.

"Go away," Stefan said, causing Elena to turn around and face him. It wasn't as hard being callous to her as he thought it would be now that Klaus had set him free for all intents and purposes. Now he was imprisoning himself in this situation until he could end it. "You shouldn't be here."

"Stefan, I need your help. Bonnie said that you would be here," Elena said, sounding unaffected.

"Well," Stefan sighed, "_Bonnie_ sucks at keeping secrets." He half listened as Elena told him about Jeremy's almost death. How many times had he almost died since their arrival? Why couldn't Elena just take the hint and ship the kid out of town already? Or she could simply let him die like fate obviously wanted so he could be happy with his ghostly vampire girlfriend in the in-between. That way Klaus couldn't threaten Elena with trying to kill him anymore, problem solved.

When Stefan didn't show any signs that he cared Elena frowned. "Stefan," she said, "Don't you get it. He isn't going to stop until he gets what he wants."

Of course he "got it". He was living proof of it. Did she just up and forget the shit that Klaus had put him through in order to get his old friend back? That had always been Elena's problem, and Katherine's as well. Their pain and their loss were special. Their experiences too. No one could ever possibly understand. And yet they were quick to compare the two when you lost something, quick to use it to sway you into thinking that they were the only ones that could ever understand you. Katherine had called it the art of manipulation, Elena called it caring, essentially though, they were one in the same. Stefan blinked, he had never compared them in that way before and yet he found his assessment to be true. "Elena," he said, "Stop talking. I'm not giving Klaus anything."

Klaus had taken too much and threatened to take too much for Stefan to let him win so easily. He wouldn't let up, not even for Elena.

"Are you listening to me?" Elena asked, though it was obvious that he wasn't. Or rather he was, he just didn't really give a damn. "He's going to kill Jeremy."

"Not really my problem," Stefan shrugged. It didn't sting when she slapped him and he didn't break when she told him to go to hell. Feelings were a distraction that he no longer had to deal with, and as she walked away from him and he was finally to feel nothing as he watched he got a measure of satisfaction from it.

He was tired of caring. He was tired of the guilt. He was tired of it all. Klaus had been right in a way. His humanity had been killing him. Stefan took a seat in and worn out chair and rolled his eyes when his brother forced his way into the house.

He looked up as Damon crashed down the stairs. "That was impressive," he smirked, as he stood and walked toward his brother, "But the coffins aren't here so you can go away now." He wasn't surprised to see his brother there. Now that he was out of the picture that was how things were. Where there was Elena, there was Damon, playing the loyal puppy, tongue lolled out and tail wagging, all too ready to take his brother's place. One would have thought that Katherine would have been enough of a lesson for him.

"I don't care about the coffins," Damon said, "We need to talk."

Stefan watched as the witches continued to torture him. Maybe it was because no matter how much Stefan loved his brother, a part of him wanted to see him hurt because he knew that even though he had given up everything for Damon by saving Klaus in order to save him, Damon would still be Damon at the end of the day and do what he wanted. After all, when Stefan had given himself over to Klaus and human blood in order to save Damon from his little werewolf booboo that hadn't stopped him from going after Elena while he was gone. Or maybe it was because Stefan had always been fond of witches and loved to see them work, after all there was a reason they were attacking his brother and not him. Whatever the case, Stefan found the sight before him rather amusing. "Okay," he said, "Let's talk."

He wasn't really surprised when Damon attacked him and forced him out of the house. His brother had always had a low tolerance for pain the witches never got sick of having a little fun at Damon's expense. He was surprised however when he found himself impaled with a tree branch. But when Damon asked him why he had saved Klaus he didn't tell him because was being held and branch point, no, he told him because he wanted Damon to be the one to carry all of the fucking guilt for a change.

But Damon was Damon in the end and as he once again shoved the tree branch into Stefan's stomach and told him to stop saving him, Stefan decided that he would take his brother's advice.

**:::**

By the time Bonnie got ahold of Elena again, she had found out that Stefan and Damon had got into it. Damon had gone back to his brother to get in on his little plan but Stefan had refused. That left it up to Bonnie. They needed someone on the inside and that had to be her. Stefan had propositioned her and he needed her conceal the coffins in nothing else.

Elena had told her to call her as soon she could to let her know if Stefan had let her back in. In the meantime she was making a bargain with Klaus, Rebekah's life for Jeremy's. But Bonnie wasn't stupid. He knew that Klaus wouldn't stop there. Jeremy wasn't the only one that he could target and so if giving Klaus his family back would get him off of their backs then she would make sure Stefan gave him what he wanted.

As she approached the witch's house, Stefan was standing outside of it. He looked her up and down a measure of surprised marking his features. "You already ratted me out of Elena," Stefan said, "I figured that we were done here."

"I did what I had to do," Bonnie said, "Klaus went after Jeremy."

Stefan blinked. "You mean like Jeremy went after Anna even after the spirits went after you for saving his life," Stefan laughed, "You would think that Baby Gilbert would have lost a few cool points." Stefan was testing her, his methods were clear in his mind, he just had to see if they would work.

Bonnie glared at him. "You're one to talk," Bonnie said, "I heard why you saved Klaus, to save Damon. Even after saving him got you into this mess with Klaus in the first place, and even though it didn't stop him from going after Elena either time."

"Ouch," Stefan said, placing a hand over his chest, "You used to be much nicer me Bonnie." He could tell she was beginning to get angry. He sped over to her, grabbing her by the shoulders and slamming her against a nearby tree. "What happened to us Bonnie?"

Stefan grinned as the trees around them began to shake and the ground beneath their feet began to crack. It took a lot for Bonnie to trust him before so he wasn't surprised that his break from sainthood seemed to cause such an emotional reaction. He would have never hurt her before. In fact he had gone out of his way to save her more than once.

"Let go of me," Bonnie hissed. Coming here was a mistake. She would just have to tell Elena that they would have to find another way. Stefan's grip on her tighten and anger and fear began to surface. "I said _let go_," she spat. The wind began to howl suddenly and Stefan let out a pained cry when both of his arms broke.

Bonnie was surprised when Stefan laughed as he snapped them back into place. "Bravo," he smirked, "I knew you had it in you. What was that about not being powerful enough again?"

Bonnie's eyes widened once she realized not just what he had done but what she had done to him. "You did that on purpose," she said. How long had it been since she had accessed that much power? Had she even been able to before she had had the power of one hundred dead witches? "What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem is that you don't seem to know what you're capable of and I am going to need you to hurry up and figure it out if we are going to work together," he said, as he once again found his footing.

Bonnie blinked at him. "We're working together now?"

Instead answering Stefan walked up to stand behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Come with me," he said, "I want to show you something."

Bonnie reluctantly let herself be led into the witch's house hoping that if something were to happen that she would be protected. Stefan took her down the basement. There were not candles lit everywhere, but aside from that Bonnie saw no change. "What am I looking at?" she asked, "There's nothing here."

Stefan smiled down at her in a placating manner. "Look again," he said. When Bonnie did, suddenly the coffins holding Klaus' family appeared. It had been the witches striking out at Damon that had reminded Stefan that though they had always abhorred his brother, they were rather fond of him. So he figured he would try his luck with the spirits that were giving him refuge in the house, hoping they would hide the coffins as well. "The witch spirits hate Klaus as much as we do," he explained, "They're using their powers to hide the coffins."

Bonnie turned to him looking confused. "Then why do you need me?" She asked. Stefan pointed to a coffin in the far corner. Bonnie looked in the direction and frowned. "This is the one I dreamt of," she said to herself as she approached it.

Stefan raised a brow at her words but didn't otherwise comment. He watched as Bonnie moved to open the coffin. "Don't bother," he said, "It won't open."

Bonnie attempted anyway. "What do you mean?" she asked, "Is it locked?"

Stefan shook his head. "Nope," he said, "Just won't open. I've tried everything. Blow torch. Axe. Crowbar. I can't even scratch the finish."

Bonnie's eyebrow shot up as she looked down at the coffin. "I think it's closed with a spell," she said unnecessarily as Stefan had already guessed as much.

While the spirits were helping him hide the coffin they weren't helping break the seal on the one that wouldn't open. That meant that whatever was inside was something that they perceived as dangerous. "Meaning whatever is in there should probably stay in there," Stefan said.

But Bonnie knew that it could be something powerful and that meant that it could be their only hope of getting rid of Klaus. She turned to Stefan. "You said that you wanted to make him suffer," she said, "The witches led me here for a reason. I think whatever's inside this coffin is our answer."

"So you're in," Stefan stated. It wasn't a question but he grinned when she nodded. "The spirits aren't able to or they won't open it, it has to be you."

"And I'm guessing that stunt that you pulled outside is a part of how you're going to help me access enough power to do it?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan nodded crossing his arms over his chest. "I call it provocation," he said, "Everyone who knows anything about witches knows that their powers are tied to their emotions. If you provoke enough feeling in a witch you can open the doors to their powers. It could be any type of feeling really. Happiness, fear, anger, anxiety, or _desire_."

"And that works?" Bonnie asked, clearly skeptical. She remember her Grams mentioning it and knew that once or twice, and she knew it was true in some cases.

"It has in the past," Stefan nodded, "Some emotions have more satisfactory results than others." He had fucked enough witches to prove as much, and then there was Klaus who was going for some sort of record. Most didn't understand, namely Damon, why Klaus would go the seduction with a witch when one had enough power and influence to use different methods, mainly force. But Stefan understood. There was a method to Klaus' madness, there always had been. Emotions were emotions and all caused power in a witch, however while pissing a witch off caused a brief power surge and scaring them caused their power to rise, nothing worked like fucking them. And while Stefan would have been against going that route with Bonnie were he able to feel anything, luckily for him, his emotions were turned off. "You provoke feeling in a witch and there is no limit to what can be done," he said.

"How the hell are you going to provoke feeling in me when you can't even feel emotion right now?" Bonnie asked.

Stefan gave the witch as slow once over look that caused her to squirm. "Trust me, Bonnie," he said, "I have my ways."

"Fine," Bonnie sighed, feeling suddenly uncomfortable, "Whatever. Let's just call it a night. We can start figuring it out tomorrow."

"Deal," Stefan said, "But no telling Elena." The last he said with a hint of warning in his tone.

Bonnie nodded. "No telling Elena," she said. And even with the promise she made to Elena only hours before she meant it.

**:::**

Klaus Mikaelson was tired of fighting Stefan on his own. It was getting him nowhere. He was no closer to getting his family back then he was when Stefan had first stolen them from him. He had his sister but that was not enough.

There was too much at stake and he had come too far to lose his family now after everything he had done in order to keep them safe and together. But Stefan wasn't going to let up, that much was clear. Which meant that Klaus would need and ally. His hybrids, while nice errand runners, seemed to be getting picked off every time he sent one of them near the little twits that used to mean something to his old friend, though Klaus still couldn't fathom why. Either way his hybrids wouldn't do.

There was only one other solution that Klaus could think of. He needed and ally and there was only one other type of being that he had ever deemed worthy enough to work with. Witches. So it was clear what or rather whom he needed. Both Greta and Gloria were now dead. As were Maddox and the others. The other witches in his arsenal were too far out. He would have to start over with someone who was closer. The Bennett witch.

While Klaus knew it wouldn't be an easy deed, he was certain that if he could manipulate Bonnie, even if he only ended up using her as a bargaining chip to exchange for his family, instead of a tool to use to find and dispose of Stefan. Klaus was sure that Stefan had the witch set on opening his mother's coffin. Once the ripper discovered there was a coffin that could not be opened Klaus knew that his curiosity and his hope that whatever was inside could kill him, would cause Stefan to call for the witch's assistance. Most everything from a spell to a hangnail caused Stefan to call for the witch's assistance. That was why Klaus was having her followed.

However, he would have to soon go from simply having her followed to sending her a message, and from that to calling upon her himself, at least if he wanted to sway her into helping him convince Stefan to return his family through acquiescence or force, whichever was necessary. It was the way it always worked, when Klaus decided he wanted a certain witch for whatever reason. The persistence, the charm, the flattery, the unbridled respect for their power; he would treat them like no one else had and it got to them in the end. As far as he was concerned Bonnie Bennett would be no different.

**:::**

Stefan had told her to be careful about being followed and yet the next day one of Klaus' hybrids had managed to follow Bonnie to the witches' house anyway. Luckily for them however, the witches were a step ahead and managed to hide the coffins before the hybrid reached the basement. Stefan had killed him but Bonnie was shaken up by it.

"I told you to be careful," Stefan said as he tossed the hybrid's heart aside.

"I know," Bonnie frowned, "I thought I was. Obviously Klaus is already suspicious of me and I'm not any closer to figuring out how to open this coffin. We're running out of time."

Stefan considered her for a moment. "If Klaus is having you followed it isn't because of me," Stefan said, "Its only one of two reasons. Either he wants to use you to get to Elena in order to speed up his families return, or…"

Bonnie met his gaze and she didn't like what she saw in the way that he was looking at her. "Or what, Stefan?" She demanded.

"Or he's in the market for a new witch and he wants to see how hard he'll have to work in order to sway you to his side," Stefan said.

"What?" Bonnie said, "What do you mean a new witch?"

"Did you think Greta was the first?" Stefan asked, "I mean, you had to have noticed that he collects witches like Damon collects excuses to throw alcoholic induced pity parties for himself."

Bonnie fought the urge to grin and then shook her head. "Whatever," she said, "I'm not going to join his collection anytime soon." Not that she was taking Stefan seriously, at all. "So if that's what he wants, which I doubt it is, then he's wasting his time."

"Good to know," Stefan nodded. He expected her to be against Klaus. Still Stefan wasn't sure what her reaction would be to him once he decided to make his move. Stefan was opposed to sleeping with Bonnie for any reason in the state that he was in, she was attractive, she was powerful, and the she could turn him on without really trying most of the time. The only objection he had ever really had to pursuing Bonnie prior to turning off his switch was the fact that she was Elena's best friend. Now, however, he didn't really give a shit and he was sure that the girls weren't as close as before anyway. Besides, since it was Elena's brother that broke Bonnie's heart the girl should be happy that Bonnie was moping around over Jeremy and she was getting back out there, even if she did end up in Stefan's bed during the process.

Bonnie looked at him for a long moment, trying to make some sense of that statement or the look he was giving her, before she sighed. "I have to go to school," she said, giving up, "I'll be back to try again later."

Stefan nodded again. In his mind he was trying to figure out how flexible she was. Now that he was thinking about taking her bed, he couldn't really get the images that were invading his mind out. She had been a cheerleader which at the very least meant she was limber.

"Are you going to do anything other than hang around this creepy house alone all day?" Bonnie asked. She was trying to get him to say something or stop staring at her but it was obviously not working.

Stefan shook his head. He wondered if Bonnie could manage to recite spells while he fucked her. It had worked with Emily, and at first he had been offended because well, she could still concentrate enough to perform spells and do them correctly while he was pounding into her which didn't really speak well about his performance. But then he had later learned that it wasn't that his performance was bad it was just that Emily had been that good.

Then there had been Sheila. While he had made her speak in tongues during, spells didn't really work so much for her until after. But dick always improved her performance so he supposed it worked out in the end. Bonnie had characteristics of both so things could go either way.

When Bonnie realized he was obviously too focused on whatever it was he was thinking about and probably wasn't really seeing her ever if he was staring at her oddly, she decided to give up and just go to school. "Right," Bonnie huffed, "I'll see you later."

**:::**

Bonnie felt a lot less guilty about lying to Elena once she found out that the girl had had Damon compelled Jeremy into leaving down. After talking to Jeremy she had left school and ended up at the witch's house pacing the length of the basement. Stefan watched her from his seat in the wooden chair in the far corner but he didn't say anything.

"This isn't about me and Jeremy," she rambled to herself, "As much as I still care about him I realize now that I wasn't what he really wanted. I get it. I'm as pathetic as everyone seems to thing. No. What gets me, what really gets me is the fact that she is taking away his life but his _choice_. They always do this. She and Damon just can't help playing God. Every time anyone has to talk to her out doing some stupid shit that will either get someone killed or won't work any fucking way, we're all wrong. We have to respect _her_ choices. She had good intentions so when someone else gets hurt or worse dies, we have to look the other way and pat her own the back and tell her everything is okay because she tried. And then when she runs head first into some dangerous situation we break our backs to save her and she wants cry because everyone is sacrificed for her sake. I do everything I can, even die to protect her, and I shouldn't have done it because she didn't think it was good idea. You give up everything to save Damon not once but twice and all she sees is that you left her. Like really what kind of fucked up convoluted logic is she on? I mean whenever we break, we lose, we sacrifice, its always about how it affects her. How would she have felt if I had died? How could you have left her, didn't you know how she would feel? How would she feel if Jeremy stayed and town and got hurt because of her? I mean what does it matter how anyone else feels or what choices they want to make, or what motivates them right? It's bullshit. All of it is just bullshit."

Bonnie raged. She still couldn't believe how Elena put it. "I'm only telling because I know that you two haven't worked through your stuff." I…I…I…I… It was always I. Elena knew what was best so insert name here should stay out of it. Never mind the fact that people in the dark almost always got killed. Elena knew what was best so it was time for Stefan to come home. Never mind the fact that him being held hostage by Klaus had not only kept Elena alive but Damon as well. Elena knew what was best so Jeremy had to be compelled to leave town. Never mind the fact that Elena was isolating him in a remote place where none of them would be there to protect him if he needed and stripping him of his free will. The list went on and on and on. "I'm so done with this shit!" Bonnie yelled.

The candles lit around the room flared to such a height that Stefan was certain that Bonnie would burn the house down. Seeing her angry was actually kind of hot, and as he couldn't really dispute what she was saying about Elena he decided not to try. "I would tell you to calm down," Stefan commented, "Because this is doing wonders for your powers and I don't even have to lift a finger, so do carry on."

"Fuck you, Stefan," Bonnie said, her pacing stopped, as she glared in his direction.

"I love it when you talk dirty," Stefan replied. She let out a growl or frustration and exasperation and her powers surged so much the house began to shake. "Before you bring this place down," he said, "Think about things this way...the sooner we stop Klaus the sooner Jeremy can come home. His departure is having a wonderful effect on you so it'll push you in the right direction."

"It obviously isn't working fast enough," Bonnie sighed deflating, "I almost brought this entire house down and still I can't open one damn coffin? It doesn't make any sense. We have to end this one way or another so tell me what I need to do. You said some emotions work better than others, but obviously anger isn't the answer. I mean as much as it pisses me off that we have to go through this, that Klaus gets to affect our lives this way, that I am doubting myself and my friends, nothing is happening, Stefan."

Stefan studied her before he spoke in a cryptic manner. "One thing has always been more effective than others," Stefan revealed, "But you won't like it. We you actually would…maybe love it even…you know if you weren't so you."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "Stop being so cryptic and tell me what the hell that's supposed to mean," she demanded.

"If you want the power to open the coffin then you might just have to let me fuck you," Stefan said bluntly, "Out of all of the emotions that can awaken a witches power, lust is the most effective."

"You can't serious," Bonnie said suddenly deflating. When Stefan just stared at her she shook her head. "No," she said, "I'll find another way." He couldn't possibly want to actually go through with something like that. As much as she had thought about the idea of going to bed with Stefan, she never thought it would actually happen. There was the fact that he was in love with her best friend, even in this state, and then there was the fact that she still had feelings for Jeremy, even after what he had done. Then there was the fact that she didn't trust Stefan at all, and she still sure he was bullshitting her.

"Come on," Stefan said, "It's just sex. It doesn't have to mean anything. We'll just be accessing your power and having a little fun…well a lot of fun while we're doing it. It's always worked that way with me before, you use me until you awaken your powers and then we go our separate ways, no strings, and since I can't feel anything anymore they'll be no emotional attachment."

"You've done this before?" Bonnie asked, incredulously, "With who?" Her image of Stefan was crumbling more and more by the minute and yet…even with him not being what she had always thought that he was, even with him being well…closer to being Damon than she ever imagine, she was more curious that disappointed. The whole thing was unbelievable. First the ripping, then being besties with Klaus, and now screwing witches to stimulate their powers.

"You really don't want to know the answer to that," Stefan smirked.

Bonnie's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me it was someone I know," she said. Stefan gave her a look. "It was," she said, "More than one person?" He deliberately stared up at the ceiling. Bonnie thought about it and there was one person that made sense, and it wouldn't have really surprised her all that much if it were true. "Emily?"

"That's one," Stefan said, she had caught on quicker that he thought she would, "Out of the one's you know anyway."

"Really," she said, "I would've guessed Damon. She has that whole woman scorned thing happening with him. I kind of got hat vibe, you know. Then again she always seemed to like you more." While this was not a normal conversation by any means, but it was taking her mind off Jeremy leaving at the very least. "Someone I know...," Bonnie trailed. She thought about it, biting her lip and tapping her foot against the musty ground. A witch she knew. Well the only one's she knew outside of her own family were the Martins and as Greta was team Klaus, she was out. There was Lucy, but Bonnie had kind of gotten a weird vibe between Lucy and Katherine and she was pretty sure that something went on there, she really wouldn't put it past Katherine. There wasn't really anyone else, there was her mother, but Bonnie didn't really know her mother and couldn't really remember what she looked like even, so she was out. The only other person that Bonnie could think of was…. "No!" Bonnie shouted, "You wouldn't! _She_ wouldn't! No way!"

"Sheila was a very attractive woman in her day," Stefan smiled, "Still was before she went if you ask me. I really was sorry to see her go. We were very _close_ for a time."

"I need to sit down," Bonnie mumbled, "No, I need to throw up. No, I need a drink." She began to pace the length of the room. She remembered her Grams wanting to talk to Stefan alone after her brought her home after helping her. She remembered her Grams trusting Stefan over Damon, at the time she had thought that it was because Damon was Damon, but it had apparently been because Stefan was Stefan. Then she thought about her Grams performing the spell that allowed Stefan to leave that stupid tomb, she had all but convinced herself now that she had done it because Bonnie had begged, but now Bonnie thought that perhaps it was because she had… "Why did you put this into my head?" Bonnie hissed, "I swear I could kill you right now! And how can you sit there and say that you're okay with sleeping with me when you…with my _Grams_!"

"I don't see what either of those things have to do with the other," Stefan shrugged, "I've slept with a lot of people. That has nothing to do with me being open to sleeping with you now, or with the fact that I wanted to before now. Not enough to act on it of course but-"

"Wait?" Bonnie exclaimed, "What?" Stefan opened her mouth to speak but she desperately held up her hands. Stefan without emotions was too straightforward, and while she was guarded most of the time she had shown more emotion in the past five minutes that she had shown anyone in the past five months, which was just wrong. Stefan hadn't only ruined her image of him but now her image of her Grams, which was just, not okay. "Just, please, stop talking," she begged.

Stefan nodded. He watched the emotions play across her face while he wondered when she would notice that she had all the coffins floating in midair around them.

"I have to go," she muttered more to herself that to him, before she walked away without another word.

Stefan wasn't at all surprised when the coffins tumbled to the ground as soon as Bonnie walked out of the basement, slamming the door behind her. While none of the coffins opened, Stefan was most displeased to see the one that they needed to open the most, still intact.

**:::**

Bonnie was supposed to be at Caroline's birthday celebration but she found herself at home, busting open the contents of her father's liquor cabinet instead. Why in the fuck was there time to celebrate someone's birthday anyway? People were dying, Klaus was coming after them, Elena was having her new puppy Salvatore compel people to leave town to places even more isolated and unsafe than Mystic Falls where there as no one there to protect them if Klaus found them, Stefan was an emotionless asshole who had sex with people's grandmother's and stole daggered coffin-confined families from sociopathic Original hybrids for shits and giggles. This was not the fucking time to be singing happy birthday and pretending like everything was okay. No, this was the time, to fuck shit, this was the time for action. But since Bonnie no longer had the power of one hundred dead witches, and she apparently couldn't access her own powers without Stefan Salvatore's super witch stimulating penis, it was the time for vodka.

However, Bonnie Bennett was notoriously a lightweight, and when a lightweight drinks down a half a bottle of vodka generally things either end in very embarrassing moments that one doesn't remember the next morning, or a lot of vomit, or perhaps a bit of both. And as Bonnie had managed to finish the entire bottle, things were not boding well for her.

It was as Bonnie was tipping the bottle to allow the last drop to drip onto her tongue that she heard the knock on the door. At first she thought that she was imagining it, as even drunk she was aware of the fact that no one ever really came to see her anymore, not unless they wanted something anyway. Even when she was dating Jeremy she had been the one making the trips to the Gilbert house which probably should have told her something but still.

Bonnie stumbled to the door and opened in it. There was a man she didn't recognize on the other side.

The hybrid had just gotten through delivering Klaus' blood to Lockwood, in order to save his girlfriend's life. It seemed that the idiot had finally gotten the message. When he had left Tyler he had been begging for the blonde's forgiveness and had come to the realization that when Klaus said he wouldn't stop targeting the people that he cared about, he wasn't fucking around. Now he was on another errand, to get the witch.

Klaus wanted an audience with the Bennett witch and as he was apparently incapable of doing anything for himself now that he had a growing army of hybrids behind him, he had sent someone to fetch the girl instead of approaching her himself. The hybrid had to admit that Klaus had good taste. She was hot, though she looked drunk already and so he doubted Klaus would have to take the time to wine and dine her like he had planned.

"Who the hell are you?" Bonnie spat, blinking at the stranger.

She was a mean drunk then, perhaps a little effort would be required after all. "Klaus request and audience with you Miss Bennett," he said, calmly. He had to do what he was ordered after all. Klaus had said to be charming, pleasant, and whatever he did, not to use force.

"Well I request that Klaus dive head first off the nearest cliff," Bonnie slurred, "We all can't get what we want. Funny how that works." She realized now that he was one of Klaus' hybrids, but in her inebriated state, that didn't really matter. She was drunk, and angry, and sad, and when she wasn't thinking about Stefan offering to screw her, she was thinking about him actually screwing her Grams, and really she just wanted to jump off the nearest cliff.

"Klaus always gets what he wants," the hybrid said. He was unable to not be offended by her tone and his stance became threatening. No one talked about Klaus like that, no one.

Just as the hybrids face began to distort, a hand shot through his body and pulled out his heart. Bonnie watched through blurred vision as the hybrid fell to the ground. She looked up to see the culprit and wasn't too surprised to see Stefan. "You keep saving me," Bonnie said, "I'm kinda glad."

"You're probably the only one," Stefan said, thinking of first Damon and then of Elena. Both of whom who didn't think that the outcome of his actions to save them were worth them staying alive apparently. He wondered what would happen if he let them both die next time, too bad he was still too much of himself to see it play out.

"You got blood all over my porch," Bonnie said as she watched him drop the heart. She wondered if it would leave a stain. If her dad ever decided to come home she wouldn't have been able to explain it. Other than that in her drunken state seeing the body didn't really bother her.

"You're drunk," Stefan stated, looking amused.

"It's your fault," Bonnie growled, "You're the one who told me all those things and now I can't stop thinking about it….I don't get it…I mean you're hot and you're you but you're still a vampire so I don't get why they would let you touch them."

Stefan raised a brow as he leaned against her door frame. "What do you mean by I'm me?" He asked curiously. He had come by to try his hand at persuading her again but she was drunk and even if she agreed she wouldn't stick to it in the morning so that was out. Still that old house and its spirits were making him a little stir crazy, so it was good to get some air.

"You know," Bonnie said, "You're Stefan. Southern gentlemen. Savior. Martyr. Saint. I know Damon makes fun of you but you're kind of a good person if you squint really hard and forget about the whole ripping and sleeping with people's grandmother's thing. I mean…I helped Elena save you so many times because I kind of thought that Elena was right and you were worth it. But still...the more I learn about you the more I have to wonder what the hell all of the fuss is about."

"I could show you," Stefan offered.

Bonnie considered this. It was the only way that she could ever find out or even hope to understand, at least that was what her vodka addled brain told her. "Alright fine," Bonnie said, "One kiss. If you can prove your point, and live up to all the hype I will consider going through with this plan of yours. You know the whole fucking for the greater good thing."

Stefan grinned but nodded, decided that he liked Bonnie drunk. "Alright," he said, "One kiss. Then we can fuck for the greater good."

"I wouldn't be so sure that it will happen if I were you," she said. She didn't bother leaving the safety of her doorway. She wasn't about to invite him in either, she was drunk, not stupid. She simply leaned forward enough, to be within reach. "Alright," she said, "Lay it on me."

Stefan laughed as he stepped over the hybrid's body. He took Bonnie's face in his hands and leaned forward bring their lips together. Even in the state he was in, he half expected to feel some inkling of guilt at what he was doing but there was none. When their lips touched, Stefan felt something, he was sure what it was, as he was too caught up in the act of actually feeling to analyze it. Still, her lips were soft, she smelled sweet, tasted better. Even when his tongue slipped into her mouth and he was able to taste the bitterness of the vodka she had drunk, her own taste still overpowered it. The kiss was slow and languid, as he massaged her tongue with his, savoring her taste.

He had always, somewhere in the back of his mind, wondered how she would taste. While he couldn't put a name to it, he found it addicting, and when he felt her power rising to the surface he couldn't help but smile into her mouth as a raw burst of energy caused to glass in her living room window to shatter.

Stefan wasn't surprised when she leapt away from him. She looked at the shattered glass in shock and a moment later it was back in place as if it had never happened. "Now do you understand," Stefan said, trying to hide the fact that he was impressed. It hadn't been like this with the others. He had hadn't been able to feel so much of what they were feeling. So much of their power.

Fear, anxiety, anger, shame, and arousal, seemed to sweat out of every pore in Bonnie's body. He could smell it, taste it. Her pulse was beating rapidly and he wanted to kiss her again. To keep kissing her until she invited him into her home and into her bed.

Bonnie met his eyes once, before looking down and shaking her head, he knew what was coming before she said it. "I know what you're talking about," she said, "I don't really see what all the fuss is about. In fact…I've had better." Stefan blinked at her not even bothering to respond, and she continued. "Make sure you get rid of this body," she ordered gesturing toward the slain hybrid, "And clean the blood off my porch. I have neighbors that aren't used to seeing murder scenes so I'd rather not cause them to talk."

Stefan rolled his eyes as she slammed the door in his face. He wasn't worried. She wasn't the first to resist him at first. He was already getting a reaction from her and this was only beginning.

_**End Notes: Not really sure where this came from. I am not even going to try and explain how this plot came about other than what I said in my first note. Anyway tell me what you guys think. Not really sure where this is going so I could use the feedback. **_


	2. Part Two: Unwanted

**Title: **Emote

**Rating: **M

**Genre:** AU/Supernatural/Humor/Romance

**Pairing(s): **Bonnie/Stefan, Bonnie/Klaus, Matt/Rebekah, Tyler/Caroline, Abby/Finn, Kol/Lucy, Elijah/Katherine, mentions of Damon/Elena, past Stefan/Emily, past Stefan/Sheila, past Klaus/Ayanna, past Klaus/Gloria, past Klaus/Greta.

**Summary: **Stefan Salvatore finds it much easier to sin now that he cannot feel emotion. The only thing that he can want now is to make Klaus suffer. The only person that can help him do that is Bonnie Bennett. But she has no faith in her powers anymore, and he has no will to help her restore it. But he knows that all power has a stimulus, and for a witch, power is tied to emotion. So even without a will to feel of his own, he plans on provoking any emotion in Bonnie that he can in any way that he can to bring the power she is too scared to use now to the surface. Fear is good. Anger works better. But the emotion with the highest success rate is lust. But what happens when Klaus discovers Stefan's methods and finds reason to want to make use of the Bennett witch himself. _Set During 3x10._

_**Author's Note: First I will say that the story is not coming off of hiatus. I simply wanted to give you guys one more update and explain the hiatus to those who do not follow me on tumblr. I am taking a break from fanfic because it is just not fun for me anymore and it doesn't seem worth it to keep writing for a character when even her creatures don't care enough to. I have been neglecting my own work for this and I think that it is time for me to move forward with my original work to see what I can do with it. I know this will be disappointing to some but I don't feel I have right to criticize the writers of TVD for neglecting Bonnie when my own characters have been put on the backburner for the sake of Bonnie. That being said, this will likely not be forever, but I will not change my mind about my decision even if it disappoints some. Anyway, about this chapter, basically I just don't give a fuck about canon anymore in any way shape or form because as far as I am concerned it is all complete self-serving bullshit, that has no continuity or follow through to speak of so….yeah…no canon to be found in this chapter. I am not in love with this update, for me it is okay but I hope you all like it. Anyway this note is getting long so I will shut up and get on with it. Thanks for reading. Truly you are all loved and appreciated. Please excuse the errors, with all the updates I had not time edit (as usual). Enjoy. **_

**PART TWO: UNWANTED**

"_Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary."_ **~Mark Twain**

Tyler Lockwood sighed as he answered yet another one of Klaus' questions. He still couldn't believe that he had missed Caroline's birthday in order to spend the entire night talking to Klaus about Bonnie Bennett of all things. Tyler was more than a little suspicious about Klaus' interest in the witch but the sired bond being in place made it impossible for Tyler to deny him. Still he found solace in the fact that he wasn't really throwing his girlfriend's best friend under the bus completely as he didn't know all that much about Bonnie. Even though he considered her a friend, it wasn't as if they talked much or hung out one on one.

Tyler sat across from Klaus in his unfinished manor and finally asked his sire a question that had been burning in his mind since Klaus summoned him. It was the thought that he could possibly get Klaus to trust him long enough to give him the answer that had kept Tyler from leaving and fighting against giving Klaus information. In spite of his loyalty to Klaus, there was still his love for Caroline, and if Klaus wanted to know about her best friend then Tyler would tell her and if he could he would give her a reason. "Why are you suddenly so interested in Bonnie?" He asked.

"Perhaps if I trusted you I would let you in on that little secret," Klaus replied.

Tyler wasn't really offended that Klaus didn't trust him. In truth, even with the sired bond he had no real reason to.

**:::**

_Bonnie stood in the basement of the decrepit house that still held the spirit of the witches that had been burn there. There were candles everywhere, the white dress that she wore seeming to glow against her skin in the soft light._

_The sealed coffin sat in front of her, unmoving as she held her hands over it reciting the spell that should've caused it to open. It remained shut and Bonnie stomped her bare feet in frustration. She stilled when felt arms wraparound her from behind, and she was pulled into a hard body. She reached behind her hesitantly and her hands came in contact with a bare chest. Frowning Bonnie moved to turn around but the arms locked around her preventing the motion._

"_Keep trying," a voice whispered into her ear. She recognized the voice immediately, Stefan._

_Bonnie swallowed as he trailed kisses from her neck to her collar bone to shoulder and then back up again. Still she held out her arms and began the spell again. Stefan touched her as if he had done so a million times before. His hands moving over her body through the material of hers, his tongue tasting the skin of neck._

_Bonnie held her breath. She hadn't meant to give any reaction. Her mind was telling her to keep reciting and to pay Stefan no mind, but her body was unable to follow instructions it seemed. She had to force the words of the spell to leave her lips and she had to force herself to keep her concentration in regards to her powers, but her reactions to Stefan were something she had no control over. _

_As much as Bonnie tried to remain unaffected, there was something pulling her in the opposite direction. She tried to force her body to remain rigid, but instead it seem to melt into his touch, welcoming it. It wasn't something that she did consciously; the hitch in her breathing, the surge in her power, the quickening of her pulse, it was all instinctual. _

_Bonnie's eyes closed as she felt Stefan lower the zipper on the back of the dress that she was wearing. The candles around them began to flicker, as he slid the straps of the dress down her shoulders and it fell to the floor in a pool at her feet. Still the coffin remain closed. "It's not enough," Bonnie whispered, stopping her attempt at the spell. _

"_It's a good thing we're just getting started then," Stefan shrugged, "There's plenty more power where that came from."_

_Bonnie did turn to face him then, stepping out of her dress as she did so, seemingly unembarrassed to be standing in front of him in only her panties and bra. "What makes you so sure?" She asked._

"_I'm an experienced man when it comes to witches," Stefan commented, "Or did you forget?"_

_She watched as he unbuttoned his jeans, resisting the urge to run her hands down his chest. "Do you really think that reminding me that you've slept with people I'm related to will get me in the mood?" She blinked at him._

"_You're already in the mood," he said, "I can read you now. Every subtle little detail, or did you forget that too?"  
Bonnie frowned, even as she closed her eyes in anticipation as he leaned in to kiss her. He stopped moving just before the lips touched and Bonnie sighed in frustration. She knew what he was doing. He wanted her to close the distance between them, to prove a point. She wanted him and they both knew it, and this was his way of making her admit it without her having to say it out loud. _

_A moment later Bonnie was standing on her toes and closing the gap between them. Even knowing how smug he was about the whole thing she couldn't help but kiss him hungrily. Even as he hands reached down and grabbed her ass to pull her closer to him, she kept her hands at her sides. She wouldn't touch him, if she touched him it would be another battle that he had won in the unspoken war that was between them each time they came together this way. _

_Bonnie's eyes opened as she pulled back in from him in order to breathe, and she was horrified by what she saw. It was no longer Stefan that was standing before her shirtless with his hands on her but Klaus. His blue eyes danced as he raised a brow at her. "Have you figured it out yet?" He asked. _

_Bonnie moved to get away from the attack that always seem to come after those words but he was too fast. However, this time, instead of his fangs buried in her neck, Bonnie found that his lips being pressed hard against her own. At first she fought against him at first, but settled surprisingly easily when she felt Stefan's presence behind her suddenly his hands on her should. "There's a good girl," Stefan whispered as Bonnie opened his mouth and allowed Klaus' tongue to sweep inside._

_She was embarrassed by the sound of protest she made when Klaus pulled away from her. She wasn't sure what was happening or where Klaus had come from but her magic was responding to him, to both of them. "Whatever you're trying to do," Bonnie said, not knowing which one of them she was talking, "This isn't going to work." _

_Ignoring her Klaus knelt down on his knees. Bonnie's eyes widened at the sight, but then shut as his hands found her hips and he began to kiss his way down her stomach._

"_Try the spell again," Stefan whispered._

_Bonnie did as she was told as Stefan's lips found her neck again, if only to stop herself from having to process what was happening. She had to push the words of the spell from her lips, the sensations humming through her body making it that much harder. The flames of the candles reached a dangerous height as Bonnie felt Stefan unhook her bra. _

_As the words end on the Bonnie's lips her concentration shot, the lid to the coffin began to creak open. _

Bonnie Bennett had forgotten all about missing her best friend's birthday until she woke up from what had to be the most traumatizing dream that she had ever had in all of her seventeen years to a call from Elena Gilbert regarding her absence. She didn't know where the hell that dream had come from and for the first time she began to doubt that the spirits had sent the ones she had had prior.

Bonnie half listen to Elena ramble on, as she felt guilt at not only having kissed Elena's ex-boyfriend, but in having a semi-erotic dream involving not just said ex-boyfriend, but Klaus as well, of all the monsters she could have had a nightmare about. She felt even guiltier when the pounding in her head and the dryness of her mouth made her want to hang up on her friend. But Bonnie let go of her guilt and embraced her anger when she remembered why she had been drinking in the first place.

Bonnie knew for a fact that Caroline had no interest in celebrating her birthday as she had been upset about not being able to grow old of all things, but Elena had been determined to change the blonde's mind, and apparently if Bonnie had been there it would have all gone so well. But Bonnie had wanted no part of it, as it was yet another example of Elena policing someone's life, even if in this case it wasn't a life or death situation involved.

Bonnie was hung-over and tired, and she really didn't feel like dealing with Elena's bullshit wrath about the whole missing Caroline's birthday, especially when none of them would remember her birthday next time it came around, just as they had conveniently forgotten last year. Bonnie gave some bullshit excuse before hanging up the phone and getting back into bed, though she doubted after the dream she had woken up from that she would end up going back to sleep anytime soon.

However, as soon as Bonnie's head hit the pillow her phone went off once more. She was about to move to turn the phone off but saw that it was Caroline and answered it.

"Hurry up and get in the shower," Caroline's voice said into Bonnie's ear as soon as she answered the call, "We don't have much time."

Bonnie frowned and rolled her eyes. "Time for what?" Bonnie asked, "I feel like shit so I'm not going to school today."

"Meaning," Caroline said, "You're upset that Elena sent Jeremy packing and you're going to mope around the house eating ice cream all day. But you don't get to be self-deprecating today. I think not. After missing my birthday which just so happened to be the most boring and unwanted celebration known to man, you owe me big time. I mean I can't believe you let Elena plan a party. I mean never mind the fact that I was in no mood to celebrate, its Elena, we both know she is the worst party planner ever. I mean who the hell celebrates their birthday in a crypt. Yes, her intentions were good because the whole me saying goodbye to my old life thing was something I kind of needed to do, but seriously? There were spiders, Bonnie! Huge spiders! And to top it all off Tyler never even showed up. Okay so maybe he had a good reason because he was trying to figure out the whole sired thing with my dad, but who has a birthday party without their boyfriend there? And really it wasn't even a party. I know parties, I plan the best parties. This is my eighteenth birthday so everyone expected a blow out and they got nothing because I had to be in this stupid funk. But I am better now and I have a reputation to uphold. So you are going to listen to me and get your ass in the shower. Besides, I never said anything about going to school."

Bonnie ignored Caroline's diatribe about Jeremy and a list of other things she really didn't care enough to ask about. She was still pissed about Jeremy being shipped off to no man's land and still wanted to tell him the truth about what Elena had done but she had come to accept the fact that she couldn't control everything, and unlike Elena, she wasn't going to try to. She would let it all play out and when it blew up in Elena's face Bonnie hoped the girl would learn her lesson, though she never did.

"I'm listening," Bonnie said, getting out of bed and accepting the fact that she was not up for the day.

"We are going to have girl's day out and you are going to buy me the most amazing birthday present ever and we are going to throw the biggest party this town has ever see. I mean people expect more from me than a night out in a crypt. If I can't pull off my own birthday party I will never get voted to be the head of any event planning committee ever again," Caroline told.

"But you never get voted," Bonnie pointed out, "You usually just appoint yourself head." At least Caroline was back to normal. Still, as the dream replayed itself in her head, only to be shut out by the image of her kissing Stefan, Bonnie knew that she was in no way going to be able to handle a girl's day.

"Oh just shut up and get ready," Caroline said, "We have a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in. I'm not taking no for an answer."

Bonnie sighed. She wasn't in the mood for a day out. She wanted to crawl up in a ball and eat greasy food and pop aspirin, then watch television all day. But still, it was better than school, she had missed Caroline's birthday, and it would keep her mind off of her worsening dreams and whatever was going on between her and Stefan. "Alright," Bonnie said, "I'm in."

**:::**

Elena Gilbert sat down next to Damon Salvatore on the couch in the living room of the Salvatore Boardinghouse. This war between Stefan and Klaus had to end, they both knew it. It would be one thing if it was leading to Klaus' demise, but so far it was just pissing Klaus off.

However, Stefan was no longer letting anyone in and he was out of control, and therefore unable to be reasoned with. "If we could just figure out what was inside of the other coffin," Elena said, "We could figure out if it could help us kill Klaus."

"Well it can't be opened," Damon said, "And frankly, if my little brother hadn't taken it upon himself to first save Klaus and then steal his family the friendly neighborhood hybrid would be either dead or out of town by now. He wouldn't be our problem."

Elena huffed crossing her arms over her chest. She needed to get to school, and really it wasn't a good idea to be alone with him after what had happened between the two of them. But Elena had come up with a plan, a plan to find out what was in the coffin and a plan to figure out if Klaus could be killed. They knew where the coffins were and there was still someone who could help them. Klaus had Rebekah back so she was out, but there was someone else that Elena felt that she could trust, especially after she revealed to him what Klaus had done to his own mother.

Elena had planned on going to Damon with her idea on asking for assistance but the more she thought about it the more she knew that coming to Damon had been a bad choice for more reason than one. She would have to go this one alone.

"I have to go to school," Elena said, even knowing that she would be heading toward the house where the witches had been burned instead. She stood and Damon raised an eyebrow at her. She looked at him expectantly, a frown marring her features.

"What?" Damon asked, "No kiss goodbye."

Elena winced, her guilt coming back to her full force, which was likely to be Damon's objected. Yes, she would definitely have to do this alone. "Goodbye Damon," she said.

As he watched her go, he thought that he heard a double meaning to her statement but as with most things concerning Elena that he didn't want to face, he ignored it.

**:::**

Stefan Salvatore was sitting on her porch steps when Bonnie Bennett came out of her house so that she could wait for Caroline to arrive. She shouldn't have been surprised to see him but she was. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she thought about the kiss the night before, and then she had to fight the urge to bang her head against the side of her house as she once again thought of the dream she couldn't make herself forget. It was bad enough that she had gotten drunk, but the fact that she had actually allowed him to kiss her… Drunk of not Bonnie had more sense than that. She knew better, just like she knew better than to dwell on a dream that was likely just the side effect of alcohol. Gratefully, however, she couldn't remember the kiss entirely, and that did wonders for the guilt that she felt that she probably shouldn't have felt.

She and Stefan were both single after all. Even though there was the matter of Elena and Jeremy, Elena was seemingly moving on with Damon and Jeremy had apparently always been in love with Anna. But that didn't matter really, Bonnie wasn't fooling herself. She knew that her feelings for Jeremy had not disappeared with the unspoken end of their relationship and when it was all said and done, once Stefan could feel, and even when he wasn't allowing himself to, it was Elena that he loved. And she wasn't like Stefan, she didn't have a switch that she could use to turn everything off, and if she got involved with Stefan physically no matter the reason, things would get emotional and messy. Hell, as far as she was concerned things were already messy.

"What are you doing here?" Bonnie asked as she turned to lock the door behind her.

Stefan kept his seat on the porch not turning around. "Do I need a reason to be here?" he asked, "I mean I am your new partner in crime, right?"

"Yes," Bonnie said, walking across the porch and sitting down next to him on the steps, "So I assume you're here to talk business as there would be no other reason you'd come." She sat as far away from him as possible and avoided eye contact, neither action surprised him.

"There are plenty of others reasons I'd want to see you," Stefan said, turning his head to face her even as she stared straight ahead, "Especially, after I found out how good you tasted last night." He smirked at the look on her face. She was always good for getting a reaction.

Bonnie winced, of course he would bring up the kiss. She wasn't sure why she expected any different, especially given the state he was currently in. Bonnie coughed loudly, clearing her throat. She turned to him, her eyes hard. "_Why are you here_?" She asked again, speaking slowly as if talking to a child.

"We need to move the sealed coffin," he said, "Elena was at the Boardinghouse this morning and I have a feeling that she's about to do something stupid."

While the spirits were hiding the coffins from Klaus, Bonnie didn't know if they would hide them from Elena or Damon, if they decided one or both were not a threat. The spirits always did as they pleased and right now they had more control over what happened to the coffins than Bonnie or Stefan did. That was a bad thing, especially considering both Elena and Damon knew where to find the coffins. The witches might've hated Damon, Emily in particular, but the right words of persuasion or a well placed threat could cause the witches to choose to reveal their secret. "So basically Elena and/or Damon has a plan that is bound to fail and so you want to head them off before it does," Bonnie stated. Her anger over Jeremy's departure made it easier for her to talk about Elena in such a manner, and it was allowing her to keep her guilt at bay and so she clung to it. Still anger or no, she was right about Elena.

"Bingo," Stefan nodded, "You were always smarter than everyone gave you credit for."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. He smirked and edged closer to her, and as she was basically as far from him as possible on the narrow steps, there was nowhere for her to run. "So since you can obviously carry the coffin by yourself," she said, "I am assuming you're looking for a hiding place. Somewhere, only the two of us would think to look, or would have open access to."

"Exactly," Stefan said, "Which is why I brought it here. I mean Damon isn't invited in and really, when is the last time anyone has actually come to see you?" Bonnie scowled and looked away from him again. "As far as anyone knows," Stefan continued, in spite of having pissed her off, "I am done working with any of you and so no one has a reason to look here."

"There is a problem with your plan," Bonnie said, "It will require me to invite you into my house if you want open access to the coffin and that is not something I'm comfortable with doing."

Stefan placed his hand on her jean clad knee and leaned in so that he could whisper into her ear. "Well," he reasoned, "Seeing as we are going to be working rather _closely_ together in order to get the coffin open, I don't think that you have a real choice. So I _suggest_ you get comfortable."

There was really no room to question the implication of his words. Bonnie bit bottom lip and cursed her raging pulse. "That hasn't been decided yet," she said, "I mean, if I remember correctly, I wasn't very impressed by your performance. If you can't get any reaction out of me with a kiss, I don't see it going any further than that. So I_ suggest_ you come up with another plan."

"You would just love for me to give up that easily, wouldn't you?" Stefan asked. Even now, he could tell that she wanted to run. She was practically begging for him to let her leave, to escape the situation. Stefan knew that if he wasn't persistent that they would never get anywhere.

"Considering I don't want any part of your little plan," Bonnie sighed, "Yes, I would."

"You can say what you want, Bonnie," Stefan said seriously, his hand moving up her knee and resting on her thigh, "But you're reacting to me even now. You're fighting it but we both know it's a lost cause."  
"I don't know that," Bonnie protested.

Stefan squeezed her thigh, and placed a closed mouth kiss on her neck that caused her shudder. "Then why," he asked, "Haven't you pushed my hand away yet?"

Bonnie stood abruptly, coming to her senses. Stefan's face was smug as she looked down at him and she wanted so much to give him and aneurism but with Caroline on the way she needed him out of sight more than she needed him in pain.

She climbed up the steps and walked back toward her front door. "Caroline is coming so you need to lay low in the house until we leave," she said, her tone businesslike, "You can bring the coffins in through the back. If you bring one them you may as well bring them all. There should be enough room in the basement. You don't have to worry about anyone coming. I have plenty of protection spells on this place. It's locked down tighter than Grams' house. No one's coming in unless I want them to come in."

Stefan stood and followed her, standing close behind her as he watched her unlock the door. Pursuing her was more fun than he thought it would be. She wasn't the first to fight him, but the others had given in quickly. Every woman he pursued gave in quickly. He had forgotten how much he liked the chase. "Since you're about to invite me in," Stefan said, "I guess it's safe to assume you want me here then."

He hadn't told her yet, but he wasn't planning on moving in the coffins and then heading off on his merry little way. Staying in an old house full of witch spirits was unpleasant, and there was no way that he was going back to the Boardinghouse. He had better things to do than watch his brother be ungrateful to him for saving his life, and witnessing the same brother going after his ex-girlfriend. Staying at Bonnie was the best option, he could escape the endless drama that his brother and Elena brought, focus on his plan to destroy Klaus, and have access to Bonnie at the same time. It was perfect. He just hoped Bonnie didn't think of his possible motives herself before she invited him in.

"If you want to stay alive long enough to witness Klaus' demise as much as you claim you do," Bonnie said, as her front door swung open, "Then you should really shut the hell up."

"Yes, mam," Stefan said, holding up his hands in a defensive manner.

Bonnie walked into her house and turn around to face Stefan, standing in the doorway. Everything in her wanted to send him flying across the street. She knew that if she invited him in then that meant agreeing to not only work with him, but also agreeing to his plan. A plan that she didn't find as repulsive as she had when he had first purposed it. Still there was a chance they could find another way. And if they couldn't Klaus dying would make it all worth it, wouldn't it?

Bonnie shook her head, deciding not to overthink things. It was too late to turn back now, and while Stefan was amiable now, he was obviously unpredictable. Who knew what he would do if she backed out on him. "Come in," Bonnie muttered, taking a step back.

Stefan walked over the threshold, closing the door behind him as he did so. Bonnie made a face at him and he rolled his eyes. "Don't look at me like that," he said, "Be polite. I'm your guest."

Bonnie huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I invited you in and you're still alive," she said, "That's good enough. Now move…Caroline will be here soon."

"But," he reasoned, gesturing with his hands, "She's not here yet. So that means that we have some time to have a little fun before she gets here." Bonnie, opened her mouth to protest, but the next second he grabbed her shoulders and switched their positions. She found herself trapped between Stefan and her front door before she could blink. "I mean, I know you found me unimpressive last night," now his tone held and edge of sarcasm, "But I'm a whole other experience when you're sober, in the light of day."  
She was sure that he was. Of course the experience would be different in the light of day, because it would be harder to black it out, to make excuses, and to deny her reactions to him. But that was what he wanted. "I'm not interested," Bonnie stated.

Stefan didn't move from his position looming over her. He had never met someone so responsive to him without meaning to be. He could get a response without deliberately trying. His very presence was making her power thrum through her body, and yet she was still denying it. "You can control your words," he whispered, "What you say, but that doesn't mean I'll pay attention. Do you know what I'm paying attention to Bonnie?"

Bonnie didn't answer, but even she knew that she wasn't doing the best job at hiding her attraction to him. But even if she was attracted to him, it didn't mean that she would act on it.

"I'm paying attention to the things that you're telling me without words," he continued, even though she had said nothing to prompt his words, "Your pupils dilating, your heart racing, your power coming to the surface, and I bet if I leaned in just a bit…" Stefan leaned down, his eyes on her lips. Bonnie's eyes closed in anticipation. He stopped just before their lips touched however, and waited. He almost laughed when Bonnie's hands clenched into fist. "All you have to do it come the rest of the way," he told her, his lips brushing gently against her as he spoke.

She let out something that sounded close to a whine, and Stefan left her conflicting emotions surround him. The shame, guilt, and desperate need, he could no longer feel, causing the lights in her formerly darkened home to flicker on and off. "Hate's not bad, and fear is good, remember?" Stefan said, "Anger….not what's better…but nothing works…"

"Better than lust," Bonnie swallowed.

"There's a smart girl," Stefan said, his tone placating as he rested his forehead against hers.

"I really hate it when you talk," Bonnie breathed, "I used to think you were smart but now I realize you're just an entitled asshole." An entitled asshole that her friends was in love with. An entitled asshole that had bedded her grandmother. An entitled asshole that had gotten them into this mess in the first place. An entitled asshole that she dreamed about having threesomes with. An entitled asshole that she really wanted to kiss. She could feel the moment Stefan moved to speak. "Don't talk," she hissed, "I mean it."

"If you want me to stop talking," Stefan said, his tone antagonizing, "Shut. Me. Up."

Bonnie raised her hand to send him flying across the room, but instead she found herself grabbing the front of Stefan's shirt and pulling him down until their lips finally met. She hadn't meant to do it, it hadn't been what she had wanted to want to do, but it was and that scared her.

Sudden the sound of a car horn could be heard from Bonnie's drive way and she knew that it was Caroline. She pushed Stefan from her and glared at him more fiercely than she had the first time she had seen him the day she had returned to after her grandmother's death. "Be gone when I get back," she said.

"That's the thanks that I get after giving you such a sweet kiss goodbye?" Stefan asked.

Bonnie's rage caused her powers to surge and all of the lights in her house turned on the bulbs burning brightly until they shattered. Bonnie ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath to calm herself. "I mean it," she spat.

Stefan nodded, giving his acquiescence even as he planned to do otherwise. "I'll give you a break if that's what you want," he said.

"Thank you," Bonnie muttered, relieved. She opened the door and practically ran out without looking back.

**:::**

By the time Elena got to the house that held the witch spirits, the only coffin left was the one that she had been looking for. As Stefan no longer trusted her or Damon anymore she wasn't surprised that he had moved the coffins. As much as Stefan's rejection, behavior, and mistrust hurt Elena; this time it was working to her advantage.

She walked over to the coffin and opened the lid. She stared down at that man inside. She knew that she had to act fast before Stefan returned for the last coffin. Stefan's methods obviously weren't working. While Klaus was suffering and pining over his family, that didn't stop him from threatening and going after the people that she cared about. If anything it had made things worse.

But once Elijah was awake, he would take care of Klaus, or at the very least keep him in line for Elena's sake. Even if things backfired, she had to try. The quicker they got rid of Klaus, the quicker that they would all be free. She would have Stefan back. Jeremy would be able to come home. Tyler would be free from the sired bond. Everything would be back to normal. Making up her mind, Elena pulled the dagger from Elijah's chest.

Elena waited until she saw his eyes open and he took in the fact that she is the one that woken him.

Elijah Mikaelson was surprised to see that Elena Gilbert was the first person that he saw when he opened his eyes after her had been un-daggered. They hadn't parted on the best to terms the last he had seen her, he had betrayed her and he wondered at her motives for waking him.

"To what do I owe this honor?" He asked as he looked up at her, his words having a sarcastic edge.

"I need your help," Elena said simply, her tone flat, "I need to get rid of Klaus and this time I need you to see it through."

Elijah raised a brow at her as she tossed a blood bag onto his chest. He had figured his brother was the motivation behind Elena's choice to wake him. "And why would I do that?" He asked. He might be fond of her, but his loyalty lied with his family and that was something she should have realized by now.

"Because he is the one that killed your mother," Elena said, "Not Mikael, and because he's the reason that Stefan kidnapped the rest of your family and refuses to let them go. You let Klaus go for your family. Stefan wants Klaus gone, you help us get rid of him and you'll have your family back."

Elena knew that she had Elijah's attention. He sat up in the coffin, his face seemingly blank. However, what Elena didn't realize was that Elijah was calculating. He was uncertain of whether or not he could trust her. He knew that she would have no qualms lying to him after he betrayed her, especially if it got rid of his brother in the process. But his family was at stake and if Stefan had them then that would be a problem.

As far as Elijah was concerned, he would get the family that he had back first even if he did have to team up with his brother to do so. Then, later, once the others were awake, if need be, they would all take care of Klaus together. If Klaus had followed through with his plans to sustain Stefan on a diet of human blood, then Elijah knew that the Salvatore was likely disenfranchised from the group, which would mean he would lack protection, which would make him a rather easy target.

Elijah smiled disarmingly at Elena. All he needed now was information. "Tell me, Miss Gilbert," he said, "What exactly have I missed?"

**:::**

Bonnie tried to be enthusiastic about the whole party planning thing but she couldn't bring herself to even force the enthusiasm. Her mind kept straying to Stefan. She wished that Caroline fretting over whether to go with a DJ or a live music could keep her mind off of things, but really Bonnie was completely zoned out.

She wasn't surprised, as she sat across from Caroline at a diner, just outside of town where they had ended up after going shopping, the girl was giving her weird looks. "If you want to say something just say it," Bonnie sighed.

Caroline frowned. There was a lot she wanted to say. At first she had thought that Bonnie was pouting over Jeremy me leaving but if what she had overheard when she went to pick Bonnie up was any indication, she was obviously wrong. Then there was the matter of what Tyler had revealed to her just before she had showed up an Bonnie's house. "I wasn't going to say anything," Caroline said, "Because I didn't want to ruin our day, but its kind of a bust anyway since you're so distracted so…"

"I'm sorry," Bonnie said sincerely, "I tried, but I am just….there a lot going on with me right now. Things I can't explain entirely, but its fine. What do you want to tell me?"

"Tyler," Caroline began, "He's been working with my dad on the sired bond thing you know…but…well he saw Klaus today."

Bonnie immediately looked concerned. She was actually a little relieved to be worried about someone else's problems others than her own, even though she was genuinely worried. "What happened?" Bonnie asked, "He didn't try to make him hurt anyone else did he? I mean after Jeremy-"

"No," Caroline said quickly, shaking her head, "It's not that." Bonnie raised and brow and looked at her expectantly when she didn't continued. Caroline sighed. She didn't really know how to say what she was about to say. "Look," she said, "When Tyler was with Klaus…he asked about you…a lot. Tyler said that he seemed very _interested_."

Bonnie flushed, thinking of her dream, and then shook her head. "In my powers," she supplied, when Caroline ended there.

Caroline looked down at her food and picked at the French fries on her plate. "In you," she said, after a moment, "Not your powers. Just you."

Bonnie's brows furrowed in confusion. "That doesn't make sense," she said, "Why would he be interested in me?" In spite of what he subconscious was putting in her head while she slept, Bonnie knew that Klaus had as much reason to be interested him as Stefan had in bedding Sherriff Forbes. Though, now that Bonnie thought about it, seeing as he had bedded her Grams; that was a bad analogy.

"Okay," Caroline sighed, "I get you don't have much experience with guys and you're still not over what happened with Jeremy but really I am not going to let you sit there and act like it's some bizarre phenomenon for a man to be interested in you for something other than your powers. I mean you're hot, you're loyal, you're brave, and you'll go to hell back for the people you love. If I wasn't with Tyler then I would totally date you. You know if I had those types of _inclinations_."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't go for you," she said, "You're too high maintenance." Caroline looked offended but Bonnie merely took a sip of her milkshake and looked back at her innocently.

"Just be careful," Caroline muttered, "Elena told me you've been having dreams about Klaus, so maybe they're a warning."

"They don't mean anything," Bonnie frowned, embarrassed, "He's not interested in me. Besides its me, I'm always careful."

Caroline decided to bite the bullet and confront her about what she had overheard. "Well," she said, "Considering the fact that an emotionally deprived Stefan Salvatore somehow won himself an invitation into your house I don't agree with that last statement." Bonnie opened her mouth to deny the accusation and Caroline held up her hand. "Before you deny anything," she said, "Let me remind you that as a vampire I kind of have super hearing so you can't really hide all that much from me. And yes I blew my car horn at that particular moment for a reason."

Bonnie slumped down in her seat. She wanted to crawl into a corner and disappear. At least Caroline didn't seem to be acting particularly judgmental. However, Bonnie knew that she would have cover her tracks. "How much did you hear?" She asked.

"Enough to know that Stefan has no qualms with propositioning you now that his switch was flipped," Caroline huffed, "I mean, I saw him sneak and check you out a couple of time before, even when he and Elena were a thing-"

"What do you mean?" Bonnie asked. She knew that Stefan had mentioned wanting to sleep with her before but she hadn't taken him seriously.

Caroline rolled her eyes. "I forgot how oblivious you can be sometimes," she said, "Especially about guys. I mean I know Stefan and Elena loved each other and whatever but he's a guy. Stefan's checked me out before too, but I think he was just curious. It's not like with you. I mean you could tell that he _really _thought about it you know, on the rare occasion he stopped being a saint long enough to let himself. But you know how Stefan is, he wasn't obvious about it. Very low key. And well…Elena was kind of too busy pretending not to pay attention to Damon to notice. Speaking of which, I totally thought that out of the two of them Damon would be the one to have the balls to go for your first. I mean he's practically begging for hate sex every time you two snark at each other."  
Bonnie's eyes widened. "What?!" she nearly screamed, "Damon?"  
Caroline sighed. "Seriously, Bonnie?" she said, "He sleeps with everyone, so you have to have at least realized that he's thought about it. I mean sometimes when he stares at you I kind of fear for your maidenhood. Matt even said that he's pretty sure Damon wants to get you into bed just to knock you down a peg or two if nothing else. You know cause he thinks you're all high and mighty or whatever. Though, now that I think about it, Stefan is kind of acting worse then Damon at the moment so it makes sense that he would throw caution to the when and have the balls to go for you now. But we should really keep this from Damon because, well he kind of wants what Stefan had, and I am pretty sure he's had some bondage fantasies about you anyway so"

"If you don't stop talking, I am going to stab you with my fork," Bonnie said, "Then use it to gauge your eyes out and set you on fire." It was bad enough she had Stefan, and now apparently Klaus to deal with, she didn't need to think about Damon and bondage. "I think I'm going to be sick," she said, "Seriously, Care, let's just pretend this conversation never happened and be grateful that I wasn't taking anything you just said seriously."

Caroline shrugged. "Fine," she said, "Stay in denial. And since you're obviously not going to tell me what is going on with and Stefan I will drop it…for now. But you really need to look out for Klaus. Tyler says he has a track record with witches, and well…he was kind of all in your personal space on senior prank night. And considering I am pretty sure he would kill someone for stepping on his toe, I am thinking there a reason why you're still alive even though right now you're his biggest threat. That coupled with your dreams spells trouble."

"It's nothing," Bonnie said, "You're being dramatic as usual and you're seeing things that aren't there."

"Fine," Caroline said, "I know you're smart and with the way you feel about the Salvatore at the best of times I doubt Stefan will even be able to get close to you. But if you invited him in your house I'm assuming something is going on there. Just remember that Elena won't be happy if you get mixed up with Stefan when he's like this, and this Stefan can't be trusted."

"I know all this. I didn't even trust Stefan before, and I have no reason to trust him now. There's nothing to worry about," Bonnie insisted. It was the truth, but Bonnie knew that trust and attraction had nothing to do with one another.

Caroline shook her head. "Okay there's nothing to worry about," she said, "But you know…if you end up in some weird triangle between Stefan and Klaus don't say I didn't warn you. Although….before all this happened those two were friends right. So you know…they might just be nice and share you."

Bonnie ran hand over her face and stood. "I have to go to the bathroom," she lied. She wanted to cry. She knew that Caroline was joking and hoping to lighten the mood but as far as Bonnie was concerned, it wasn't funny, it wasn't funny at all.

She had gone from mourning over the loss of her relationship with Jeremy, to fighting an attraction to Stefan, and dreaming Klaus almost overnight. It wasn't as if her feelings for Jeremy had disappeared but that just made it worse. As did the feelings that Bonnie was sure still Stefan still had for Elena. Even without those factors, Stefan being what he was and acting in the dangerous manner in which he was, was enough for Bonnie to not want anything to do with him. And the issues that came with dealing with Klaus in any way were so great in magnitude that she didn't even have to go over them to know how wrong it all was.

When Bonnie made it to the restroom she splashed water on her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She wondered if she would even recognize herself anymore when all of this was over. She wasn't sure how much more that she could take.

Bonnie sighed as her cell phone rang. She answered without thought. "Hello?" She said.

Bonnie closed her eyes tightly when Stefan's voice came on the line. "We have a problem," he said.

**:::**

Bonnie sat down on her couch and stared straight ahead. Her friend was an idiot. She couldn't believe that she had woken Elijah. The man had betrayed him before because of his family. They all knew that family was what Elijah cared about. So logically that would mean that Stefan being the one who now had his family, he would be Elijah's target. Elena had tried to get them an ally and she had created one for Klaus instead.

"You said this place was protected," Stefan said, as she sat down next to Bonnie, "Were you serious?"

Bonnie nodded. "They'll come for you," she said, "Not that I care….but it would be best if you stayed here. With Elijah and the hybrids, Klaus has enough to come after us. We can't waste any more time. We have to get that coffin open."

Stefan grinned. He was angry that Elena had put them in a compromising position but inadvertently she had made it so that they could get done what would need to be done. Stefan now had Bonnie's permission to stay and soon he was certain he would be in Bonnie's bed. He wondered what Elena would think if she knew that her actions had made it possible for him to sleep with her best friend. "Does that mean we get to fuck for the greater good?"

Bonnie frowned. "We'll start slow," she said, "We'll only….fuck for the greater good as an absolute last resort."

Stefan knew it would be necessary but didn't protest. If she wanted to have some long drawn out foreplay that was fine by him, as that was basically what they would be doing. The end result would be the same. "That's fine," Stefan said, "But I don't think that we should hide in here. If we do the others will be suspicious. We'll have to play this by ear. See what happens with Klaus and Elijah and go from there. And in the meantime we work on the coffin."

Bonnie nodded. She thought about telling him what Caroline had told her that Tyler had said about Klaus and about her dream but she decided against it. If Klaus was really interested he would have approached her by now. The dream was likely just stress. Once they got the coffin open and got rid of Klaus none of it would matter anyway.

"I don't want this," Bonnie sighed, "Any of this. When this is over….no one can know about this. Also, us being physically involved now will mean nothing later. We're doing this because we have to, not because we want to. It's just a means to an end." She wasn't the kind of girl that thought that way, not that there was anything wrong with that, but it simply wasn't who Bonnie was. Still, in order to pull this off, she knew that would be the kind of girl she had to become. She had kissed Stefan twice already, they had cross the line already, and there was already no going back.

"I agree," Stefan nodded, "My switch has been flipped so you don't have to worry about me getting attached. But what about you. My aim is to inspire an emotional reaction in you. Do you think you can detach yourself from that?"

Bonnie shrugged. "I'll do what I have to," she said, as she turned to look at him, "I always do."

Stefan frowned. She wasn't the only one, but he was beginning to realize that she was the only one that most of them overlooked. Part of the reason why he loved provoking Bonnie, was because he had never seen her so expressive before. She was always so guarded. There was a lot of pain and a lot of anger under the surface and it was a fascinating thing to watch it spill out. Bonnie need to let her emotions out as much as Stefan needed to keep his at bay. In that sense, what they were doing know, became a lot less about Klaus and a lot more about them.

"I guess we have deal then," Stefan said, "Should we seal it with a kiss."

Bonnie wanted to set him on fire, she wanted to make him writhe in pain, but inadvertently she found herself leaning in. "This isn't going to end well for us is it?" Bonnie asked, "We haven't even started really and I feel like I'm going insane."

"I would feel bad for you," Stefan said impassively, "But I'm already there. Have been for a while now."

"I understand how Damon and Elena can walk away from you," Bonnie said seriously, "Its easy…not to care about you when you're like this." She had been aiming to hurt him, or get some type of reaction but he merely blinked at her.

"I know," Stefan said, "I don't want them to care about me. It's easier that way."

"Easier for who?" Bonnie asked. She turned her body so that she was facing him completely.

"Everyone," Stefan sighed.

Bonnie wanted to press the issue but decided to drop it. "I don't care about you either," she said, "So this thing we're doing. It won't be a problem for me. You don't have to worry."

"Good," Stefan said, mimicking her pose as he turned on the couch to face her, "When this is over you can walk away too. That'd be easier for everyone. No one has to know how far from sainthood I've fallen, Elena won't even have to know that you're a better kisser than she is, and you can spare Jeremy's hurt feelings when he realizes that I got some before he did."  
Right when Bonnie was close accepting the situation as inevitable he had to make her feel like shit about it all over again. "Stop talking," she ordered.

"Shut. Me. Up." When Bonnie kissed him she kept her mind blank. She was doing what she had to, that was all. Her attraction to Stefan didn't matter. Neither did the fact that a part of her was doing all this because she selfishly wanted to be wanted and somewhere deep down in the darkest part of her, she wanted to take from Elena something important. The same way that Elena seemed to take from Bonnie with every choice that she made. And she could blame even this on Elena in the end, as it was her friend's choices that put them in the position that they were in. It made the guilt lesson so much more when she thought that way. She didn't want this. She didn't want Stefan. She was doing what she had to. She would have to keep telling herself that if she would get through this.


End file.
